Three women were huddled behind reporters, avoiding media cameras, but they made a point of greeting their brother and nephew.

“Hi Trevor,” his sister said to him as he was escorted out of Courtroom No. 7 at provincial court in St. John’s.

“Love you,” his other sister said.

Pardy acknowledged them, and his aunt, and held back tears as sheriff’s officers opened the door leading to the holding cells.

Pardy made a brief appearance in court Wednesday afternoon, about two weeks after he was arrested for murdering his girlfriend, Triffie Wadman.

It was sombre in the courtroom, where about a dozen of Wadman’s family and friends sat in the front row.

Pardy’s new lawyer, Jeff Brace, told the judge he was waiting for more police evidence. Crown prosecutor Iain Hollett confirmed he had recently received statements and audio recordings from the RNC and would give it to Brace by the end of the week.

The case will be back in court Oct. 31, when a date for a preliminary hearing could be set.

While Pardy was emotional Wednesday, he appeared physically stronger than he was during his last court appearance.

On Oct. 3, he had to be physically supported by two sheriff’s officers as he left the courtroom.

The idea that the province is becoming more and more unsafe is an illusion. We still have the lowest homicide rate in North America (0.8 / 100,000) (the Canadian average is 2.5 / 100,000) and it hasn't escalated over the last century. In fact, it has decreased. We do not have random acts of murder and as long as you're not participating in drug culture you are safe. All other murders are domestic. It's fear of outside influence that stirs this idea.

Incredibly sad for both families. It must take a great deal of courage for his family to show their support for him, and equal courage for Ms. Wadman's family to have to sit in a courtroom facing him. Why would he have had a firearm in the first place? And what could have been so bad that would bring a relationship to gunfire? What are we coming to.

NL has escaped much of this criminal activity for quite some time. But with the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, the middle class slowly dissapearing, the population increasing, and finally the drug use/availability exploding, we are coming to what every other city has always been.
It's too sad to see where our city and province are heading. But until the equation goes back to the way it was (which it never will) we will forever be in this situation.
RB, the question isn't what are we coming to, the question is where will it end?